Flibbertigibbet

Mac is Back in Town

I'm back!

My trip to New York was great. First, let me tell you the touristy stuff I did:

- rode the boat around Manhattan
- went to the top of Rockefeller Center
- rode the Staten Island Ferry
- visited the Bonx Zoo
- visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art

That stuff was tons of fun. I haven't mentioned him, but I have a new friend in NYC who lives in Brooklyn and he let me crash at his place during my visit. So, we visited all five boroughs of New York.

I even got to attend a meeting of the NYU Objectivists, which was also great fun.

But I was distracted during my visit, partially by the fact that I had three interviews lined up during my visit.

Interview 1 - The "slamdunk"
This interview went very well, of course. The job is a good job, so don't mistake my saying it seems to be a slam dunk for me saying I don't want it.

It will get me back to the tech and the delivery side of things where I want to be for the time being. The company is also young, so there is a lot of opportunity for success and really making a difference in the direction the company goes as it ages.

So, I met with two directors and their Human Resources recruiter and our conversations were all very positive. I wasn't asked any questions I couldn't readily answer impressively.

I think I represented myself well. Curiously, I didn't get as much affirmative feedback from the hiring manager this time around. That could mean nothing, but it could also mean that they struck upon another good candidate. So, there's a bit of uncertainty in this opportunity that I didn't sense before. We'll see!

Interview 2 - The "head hunter"
I don't know if I mentioned these people before. They're a recruiting company there in Manhattan that claims to specialize in filling tech positions like developers, project managers, etc. I'm extremely skeptical of them.

For instance, during my initial phone interview with the recruiter she asked me what an RFP is. Now, if you haven't worked in technology, you may not be familiar with Requests For Proposals. Basically, when a company is shopping vendors, they will send out something like a combination wishlist and questionnaire. The vendors then respond to it describing their capabilities and how they think they can meet the requesting company's needs. These are extremely common. For them to not know what an RFP is shows a shocking level of ignorance regarding the basic elements of technology sales. Perhaps they don't specialize in sales, but even creating RFPs is something managers in technology need to know about.

There were a few other little signs here and there that made me doubt thier experience and their dedication to placing me.

What I like about this recruiter is that they do insist on meeting every candidate face-to-face. Recruiters build their business by placing good people and since this agency works exclusively in the tri-state area (NY, NJ, PA) they demand to meet every candidate

But once in New York the recruiter didn't seem to listen to me. She seemed very cavalier about the whole thing.

First, she called me 40 minutes before our scheduled appointment to cancel. I had a reservation with my friend at a swanky restaurant for lunch and then we had another appointment lined up after my afternoon appointment with the slamdunk company. (See above.)

I rushed out of the other appointment and down the street to their offices, though, to meet them. Once there, it was as if she couldn't remember anything I had told her before. She asked me the same questions as before and she seemed as disinterested as before. At one point in the interview she asked, "So, what sort of position are looking for?" and I told her that I was looking for a project management role. And she asked me to describe what sort of responsibilities I would like and after describing them at some length she asks, "Oh, ok. So, you're looking for something in project management."

At one point, she asked me what salary range I was seeking. After I told her, she raised an eyebrow and somewhat incredulously, "And are you finding anything in that range?" I gave a quick, tight smile and responded evenly, "I have two other interviews lined up during my visit."

So, anyway, I met with them and so now, theoretically, they're going to look for jobs for me.

I have almost 6 years experience in sales, project management, product management, and development. Finding a job for me in my price range really shouldn't be that big a problem for a well-connected technology recruiting firm with more than 25 years of experience to work with. Like I said: I'm skeptical about these folks.

Interview 3 - The "stretch"
This is the company I was really excited about. Based on previous conversations, this one sounded very promising. The interview only made it sound better for me. Not only does it seem like I'm particularly well-qualified for the position (it's almost like their job description was written from my resume) but it's also exactly in line with my long-term career goals.

The bad part of this interview, though, was that I didn't get to talk about myself very much. They spent 90% of the interview either telling me about the job (Actually, trying to sell the job to me!) or answering my questions about the job. Another 5% was spent shuffling about (I spoke to five different people) and the remaining 5% was where I supposedly got to strut my stuff. I'm afraid that one can't strut very far in 6 minutes.

But, on the upside, the last part of the interview was conducted almost entirely in the future tense. "You will be working on the MegaCorp account." "The Account Director is on vacation, but you'll work a lot with her." And so on.

Everyone I spoke with was very positive. One guy I spoke with said, "Well, you've got my vote."

At the end, the hiring manager wanted to know when I could start. I told him that I would like at least three weeks (for people who've attempted to find a place to live in Manhattan, you'll know that this is a very short amount of time) and he said that they could definitely remain flexible.

Right now, I have to just wait a little. I'll mail thank you notes out tomorrow and then I'll wait until next week to let them stew a little. If I haven't heard back by then, I'll tag them about next steps.

So, a few question marks and x-factors out there, but over all, very good news!